


When You Judge a Book By Its Cover

by ScienceFantasy93



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Annabeth is kind of shallow and judgmental at first, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Percy is a hot nerd, References to Harry Potter, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-26 17:29:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19010470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScienceFantasy93/pseuds/ScienceFantasy93
Summary: A tall, dark haired man stood there, a towel slung low around his slim hips, abs rippling, biceps flexing, and chest muscles clenching as he worked to keep the towel from slipping down while holding the door open. He smiled, and his green eyes sparkled like the sea. “Hey. Annabeth, right?”She nodded, swallowing hard. How did he know her name?“Percy,” he said, as if sensing her confusion, and her eyes widened. Now she recognized that voice. Now she recognized that height. She even recognized his hair, though now it was damp from a shower and no longer poofed out under a sorcerer’s hat.Annabeth has no interest in the guy trying to role play Harry Potter. And then she discovers he's hot.





	When You Judge a Book By Its Cover

**Author's Note:**

> Just a one-shot I thought I'd post. Annabeth comes off as kind of shallow and bitchy in the beginning, and totally disses Harry Potter. But she gets better. Enjoy!

“You can’t be serious.”  
  
Annabeth glanced around the bookstore and rolled her eyes. “This is, like, a serious geek-fest.”  
  
“It’s like a mini-comic con,” Piper explained as she adjusted her Harry Potter t-shirt. “It’s for people who couldn’t make it to the regular comic cons. This bookstore holds themed conventions – small ones, obviously – once a month for different fandoms. And today is the Harry Potter convention.”  
  
“Clearly,” Annabeth snorted as she took another survey of the bookstore. It wasn’t very big, maybe a quarter of the size of the college campus bookstore, but it was packed with people. Some were dressed fairly normally, just decked out in a Harry Potter t-shirt like Piper, but others had gone all out with the costumes. Annabeth spotted a couple of guys in long black robes, wizard hats, and glasses pretending to duel with costume wands. Gods. How lame was that? And in a bookstore, no less.  
  
“You’re such a snob,” Piper admonished her, poking her arm. “Harry Potter was all of our childhoods. You can’t tell me you haven’t forgotten the magic that the series brought to your life.”  
  
“Of course I haven’t,” Annabeth retorted, a little stung. “But the key word here is _childhood_. We’re adults, Piper. We can legally drink, we’re in college, and we have our own apartment. This is just…” She looked around the room once more, “A lame excuse to try to recapture our youth.”  
  
“Wow. The girl takes one psychology class and suddenly she’s diagnosing people with arrested development.” Piper rolled her eyes. “Come on, everyone is here to have fun.”  
  
“Everyone but me. I didn’t want to come here anyway, but you forced me.”  
  
“Actually, I bribed you. I said we could go into the city next weekend and you could bore me to death with architectural details about the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. And I need you here,” Piper added with a whine. “I’m here to support Jason, but he’s working the event, so I need someone to talk to.”  
  
Annabeth sighed. Piper had gone out on two dates with the guy, and suddenly he was all she talked about. It was actually very much out of the ordinary with Piper, who usually went through guys the way Annabeth went through coffee during finals week. While Annabeth was happy for Piper, and glad she had finally met a nice guy, she wasn’t thrilled that she had been dragged to Geek-A-Palooza for a Harry Potter fest at a bookstore the size of her old dorm room. It was hot and stuffy, and Annabeth wouldn’t have said no to an iced lemonade. Or an iced beer. Either one sounded amazing right about now.  
  
“Oh, there he is!” Piper cried, pointing towards the guys pretending to duel it out. “He’s the blond,” she added for Annabeth’s benefit.   
  
“Is he allowed to attack customers with fake wands?” Annabeth asked. “Doesn’t the store have some sort of liability policy covering that?”  
  
Piper rolled her eyes again and dragged Annabeth towards the two guys. “Come on. And _be nice_ ,” she added sternly.  
  
“I’m always nice. I’m a freaking ball of sunshine. Haven’t you noticed?”  
  
Piper didn’t respond, probably because they were approaching the boys. The blond one spun around and beamed at her. “Hey! You came!”  
  
“I did!” Piper cried back, sounding every bit as excited as him. “Jason, this is my best friend and roommate, Annabeth. Annabeth, this is Jason.” She said the last bit with a small flourish and a nervous but hopeful smile.   
  
Jason held out his hand to Annabeth and she shook it.  
  
“It’s nice to meet you,” he said to her politely with a friendly smile. “Are you a Harry Potter fan?”  
  
“I’ve read the books,” she said dismissively. “I enjoyed them, but I wouldn’t consider myself a fan. Especially since I was eight at the time.”  
  
Jason’s smile wavered slightly and Piper rolled her eyes for the third time since they had entered the bookstore. “Don’t mind her, she’s just a cranky snob. I dragged her out of bed too early for her liking.”  
  
“It’s Saturday,” Annabeth huffed out. “And Saturdays are meant for sleeping in.”  
  
“I hear ya on that one,” said Jason’s friend. This guy was dark haired and wore glasses, wizard robes and that stupid pointy hat. “The only reason I’m here is because it’s free, and it’s an excuse to dress up like Harry Potter.”  
  
“Whatever,” Annabeth replied, looking away. “Is there anything in here to drink or eat?”  
  
“There’s a snack table up along the back wall,” Jason told her. “Percy, why don’t you show her where it is?”  
  
“I’d be happy to,” said Percy cheerfully. He led her through the milling crowd, chatting happy about how nice it was to meet fellow Harry Potter fans and how cool everyone’s costumes were. Annabeth fought back the urge to pull a Piper and roll her eyes. What a nerd. She prided herself on being smart, always had. She knew her IQ was at genius level. Despite struggling with dyslexia and ADHD when she was younger, she’d always gotten straight A’s, and she’d been placed in honors classes in high school and earned the place of valedictorian. She had worked her ass off for everything she’d ever achieved. But she’d never wasted her intellect on something as vapid as an imaginary world where the national sport was played on broomsticks with balls called _quaffles_.   
  
Sure, she’d read the books when she was in elementary and middle school. But once she’d reached high school, she’d discovered that the people who were part of different fandoms were total dimwits. There was just no point in talking to them about anything serious, such as architecture or ancient history. And so she had stopped trying. And now Piper, who was usually pretty passionate about real stuff, such as animal abuse, women’s rights, and sex-trafficking, was dating someone who apparently thought Harry Potter was the be-all-end-all of cool. Ugh. Just her luck. And his friend wasn’t any better. If anything, he was worse. Jason looked like he’d probably be pretty cute under the robes. But Percy’s glasses were so thick Annabeth couldn’t even make out his eyes, and his robes were oversized so he looked scrawny under them. Tufts of black hair stuck out under the hat, giving him the appearance of a very scruffy q-tip. Altogether a very unimpressive look.  
  
The snack table was packed, and the line was ten deep. Apparently everyone else had had the same idea as Annabeth. This morning just kept sucking worse and worse.  
  
“So, do you work here too?” Annabeth asked, giving a sharp stab at conversation. She figured she could make small talk while they waited in line for food, and that would fulfill her obligation to Piper. When Piper asked if she even tried to talk to Percy, she could say yes and not feel guilty. Though, seriously, what the hell kind of name was Percy, anyway? It made her think of Percy Weasley, the ultimate swot. This Percy probably wasn’t much better.  
  
“A few hours a week, but I also bartend.”  
  
Annabeth paused. This scrawny nerd? Bartending? It seemed impossible. A bookstore was way more Percy’s style.  
  
“Oh,” she said after a moment. “That’s cool.”  
  
“Where do you work?” he asked conversationally.  
  
“At the campus store,” she replied, before internally wincing. Great. If he was like the other geeks she had met in her life, he would probably assume they were dating and he’d show up at her job to try his hand at flirting with her.  
  
“That’s cool,” Percy said, and pulled his phone out from inside his robes. He laughed a little at a text and shot one back, before stuffing it back into his pocket. “Oh, look, you’re up.”  
  
And sure enough, it was Annabeth’s turn. She filled her plate with crumbly lemon bars and powdery donuts, and got a lukewarm cup of coffee with enough cream and sugar to make up the frosting on a cake. Percy was right behind her, helping himself to warm fruit and cold tea. Neither of them said much else, except when Annabeth commented to Percy that he should really try the lemon bars because they didn’t completely suck, or when he offered her a spoonful of berries.  
  
The rest of the convention was as lame as the snacks. People acted out scenes from the books, and Annabeth saw some truly bad acting going on. Others stood at the front of the store to talk about why they loved the books so much and why they were so important to modern day culture. A couple different people set up stands in the corners of the store to sell jewelry and shirts emblazoned with Harry Potter designs.  
  
All in all, it was not Annabeth’s idea of a fun day. And the day took an even more sour turn when she discovered that she was going to have to make the trek back to the apartment by herself because Piper was heading to Jason’s place. Annabeth didn’t mind the walk back towards campus. But she had been looking forward to walking it with Piper. Piper would make it fun – she’d squeal over whatever cute thing Jason said, they’d roll their eyes about Percy, and they’d make fun of the crappy desserts.  
  
“Are you going to be okay?” Piper asked when she noticed Annabeth’s frown. “I mean, it’s the middle of the day, you should be fine.”  
  
Annabeth forced a smile on her face. She knew she had no reason to be upset. She and Piper had made no plans for the rest of the day, and it wasn’t like they had driven there and now Piper was taking the car to go back to Jason’s. She was just being cranky and bitter. But she didn’t want to ruin Piper’s day. She knew her attitude had been bad all through the convention, and while both Jason and Percy had attempted to engage her in small talk a number of times throughout the day, by the end of it neither of them had seemed particularly pleased with her. She was sure Piper wasn’t thrilled with her either, and she didn’t want to make those feelings worse by whining about how now she had to walk home by herself. She had agreed to come to this convention as a favor to Piper. No one had made her, not really. She was 21-years-old, and she needed to act like it.  
  
“It’s fine, you have fun.” She gave Piper a quick hug. “I’ll see you later.”  
  
“I could drive you back to your apartment,” Percy offered from where he’d been huddled with Jason. “That way you don’t have to walk.”  
  
“It’s fine, it’s close by,” Annabeth waved him off.  
  
“Are you sure? It’s no big deal.”  
  
“Trust me, it’s fine. But thanks anyway.” And with that she walked out of the bookstore and headed for her apartment.  


* * *

The next morning, Annabeth woke up to a text from Piper: _Hey, can you come pick me up? Jason and I overslept and he and Percy both have to get to work ASAP, so they don’t have time to drop me off. Jason lives in the Maplewood Complex, number 204._  
  
So with a sigh, Annabeth threw on shorts and a t-shirt, tied her curly blonde hair up in a ponytail, and drove on over to Jason’s apartment. She marched up to the front door and rang the bell. A moment later, the door swung open and Annabeth nearly stumbled back into the railing.  
  
A tall, dark haired man stood there, a towel slung low around his slim hips, abs rippling, biceps flexing, and chest muscles clenching as he worked to keep the towel from slipping down while holding the door open. He smiled, and his green eyes sparkled like the sea. “Hey. Annabeth, right?”  
  
She nodded, swallowing hard. How did he know her name?  
  
“Percy,” he said, as if sensing her confusion, and her eyes widened. Now she recognized that voice. Now she recognized that height. She even recognized his hair, though now it was damp from a shower and no longer poofed out under a sorcerer’s hat.   
  
“Oh! Hi! I didn’t – I mean – you look a little…different.”  
  
He smirked a little. “So do you.”  
  
She felt her face heat up. The day before she had been dressed in a skirt and a button-up shirtless blouse with the tails tied up, with her hair and makeup done. Today she looked as if she had just rolled out of bed – which wasn’t too far from the truth.  
  
“I was still asleep when Piper texted me,” Annabeth explained. “I figured showering could wait.”  
  
Percy nodded. “You didn’t want your best friend stuck by herself in a strange apartment?”  
  
“Something like that.”  
  
“Come on in,” he told her, and stepped back. “Once they’re done with the shower, Piper and Jason will be out.”  
  
Annabeth rolled her eyes as she stepped into the apartment. “Piper made it sound like they were on a strict time limit.”  
  
Percy’s smirk widened. “Haven’t you heard? There’s always time for shower sex.”  
  
Annabeth laughed, but she was sure her face was turning bright red again. Percy seemed so different from yesterday. The day before he had been running around in a nerdy costume, pretending to hex people with a fake wand. Today he was half-naked and making sex jokes. The difference was astounding. She wondered which one was the real Percy, or if maybe they both were. Maybe she was just seeing two different sides to him.  
  
“It seems kind of awkward,” Annabeth commented. “Shower sex, I mean.”  
  
“Not if you do it right.”  
  
She bit her lip. Percy sounded so sure, and his green eyes seemed to pierce her gray ones. And just like that an image of him pushing her up against the wall as the shower sprayed down upon them and his lips captured hers flooded her mind. She could almost feel his bare chest against hers, his knee sliding between her legs, his hand slipping down from her shoulder to cup her breast.  
  
And then a door opened down the hall and Piper scurried out, pulling her Harry Potter shirt from yesterday on over her bra. Percy jokingly yelped and slapped his hands over his eyes, while Jason shook his head.  
  
“Real subtle, dude,” he told Percy.  
  
“Yeah, you two were real subtle yesterday afternoon, last night, and this morning,” Percy retorted.   
  
“You’re real subtle right now, standing in front of my girlfriend’s roommate half naked,” Jason pointed out.  
  
“It’s cool, I don’t mind,” Annabeth said quickly. “I mean – “ She swore to God, she couldn’t remember the last time she had blushed this much in less than ten minutes – “I’m not, like, offended or creeped out or anything. It’s fine. Percy’s fine. We’re all fine. He’s better than fine. I’m going to go wait in the car now.” And with that she slinked away before she could make even more of an ass out of herself than she already had.  
  
When Piper got into Annabeth’s car, she found Annabeth banging her head against the steering wheel.  
  
“Hey, hey, hey,” Piper protested, “don’t beat up your car. It didn’t do anything.”  
  
“I cannot believe I just said that Percy is _fine_ ,” Annabeth groaned.  
  
Piper smirked. “You also said that he’s more than fine, if I remember correctly.”  
  
“I don’t even know what came over me. I had no interest in him whatsoever yesterday. Now suddenly it turns out that he’s hot, and I’m a blabbering mess!”  
  
Piper shrugged. “You’ve heard of these things called hormones, right? They’re the things that turn even the smartest, most competent, most independent women into blabbering messes.”  
  
“But not like _this_ ,” Annabeth protested. “Percy isn’t even my type.”  
  
“Well, he must have struck a chord in you somehow,” Piper responded logically, “otherwise you wouldn’t have started blathering like you did just now. If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think Percy minded at all. When Jason and I came out, he was staring at you like he wanted to rip your panties off with his teeth.”  
  
“He was?” Annabeth asked faintly.  
  
“He was,” Piper confirmed. “And Percy’s cute. Not my type, but he’s cute. And he’s on the swim team with Jason. You should go to one of their practices with me.”  
  
Annabeth bit her lip as she slid the key into her car’s ignition. The idea of going to a practice and watching Percy for a couple hours wearing nothing but a speedo and goggles sounded amazing. But she didn’t want to sound _too_ eager. So all she said was, “I’ll think about it.”  
  
Judging from the satisfied smile on Piper’s face, she knew _exactly_ what Annabeth was thinking.  


* * *

On Monday afternoon, Annabeth found herself with free time for once. She usually worked at the bookstore Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons, and usually one full day on the weekend, but she had switched shifts with one of her coworkers, so she was working Tuesday afternoon instead of Monday. And so instead of making her way to the Hub, the campus recreation center where the bookstore, the gym, a lounge, and different coffee shops and restaurants were located, she instead trekked over to the library. She got herself a cup of coffee from the coffee bar on the first floor and headed up to a remote second floor corner, where she liked to hull up when she needed peace and quiet. She had a huge paper due in her history of eastern architecture class and she had only sketched the outline for it.  
  
Before she could really begin working on it, however, a second person wandered in her little sanctuary: Tall with messy dark haired and sea green eyes.  
  
Percy Jackson.  
  
Annabeth had found herself questioning Piper about her boyfriend’s roommate as she got ready for work the previous day once they got back to the apartment. She’d found out Percy’s last name, that he was from New York City, that he was majoring in marine biology, and that he had a giant rottweiler named Mrs. O’Leary who he had inherited from a friend of his mom’s. The more she’d learned, the more Annabeth craved to know more. She loved learning, and when she hit upon a subject that truly fascinated her Annabeth could be relentless until she knew every little detail about it. She suspected that it would be the same way with Percy.  
  
She was both intrigued and repulsed by the urge to know more about him. She felt shallow and judgmental. She hadn’t given a damn about him when she’d thought he was some skinny, unattractive nerd who idolized Harry Potter. Now that she knew the truth – that he was the super hot captain of the college swim team – she knew she’d be more than happy to follow him around like a lovesick puppy.  
  
“Ugh,” she groaned quietly as she watched him. “What the fuck am I supposed to do about you?”  
  
Maybe he heard her. Maybe he just felt her eyes on him. Maybe he would have looked in that direction anyway. It was anyone’s guess why he chose to turn around at that point, but whatever the reason, his eyes suddenly met hers and he held her gaze.  
  
Annabeth swallowed hard. He looked so damn good in his black t-shirt, jeans, and beat-up sneakers that it hurt. And – oh, shit – his ears were pierced, he had snakebites, and she could even see a tattoo winding up his right arm. While she had never been particularly attracted to the bad-boy-punk-rocker type, it somehow seemed to work for Percy. Everything about him screamed _walking sex_.  
  
“Hey, Annabeth,” he greeted her. “Done with classes for the day?”  
  
She nodded, licking her lips to wet her suddenly bone-dry mouth. “Yeah, thank goodness. Today was a killer. How about you?”  
  
“All done as of – “ he checked his watch – “ten minutes ago.”  
  
Annabeth felt her lips twitch up in a small smile. “You still wear a watch?”  
  
“It keeps me focused and on track,” he explained. He glanced at the empty chairs at her table and she nodded to him, letting him know that he could sit down. He did so, slinging his backpack on the floor at his feet. He straddled the corner of the chair, and Annabeth suddenly realized just how tall he really was. She wasn’t exactly petite herself, but Percy made her feel small and delicate, something that she’d never really thought she’d crave. But, she realized, she liked it.  
  
“I have ADHD,” Percy told her. “And if I’m always checking my phone for the time, I’m going to get distracted really easily. I’ll spend three hours playing some stupid game on my phone or scrolling through social media when I should be writing a paper. But if I have the time on my wrist, then I can keep track of the time that’s passing and I don’t have the temptation of Angry Birds and Twitter.”  
  
Annabeth laughed a little. “That makes sense. I have ADHD too – well, I did, anyway. I don’t know if you can grow out of it, but I guess I did. I also had dyslexia.”  
  
“I still have dyslexia,” he said with a grimace. “It makes dealing with all the fancy, proper biology terms a real pain in the ass. But I want to be a marine biologist, so I just gotta stick it out.”  
  
“That’s one way to look at it,” Annabeth replied, impressed. She liked that he wasn’t using his learning disorders as an excuse to half-ass it. She’d known plenty of people in high school who didn’t even bother to try because they had a learning disorder. But she’d always pushed through, and apparently so did Percy.  
  
Percy nodded. “So, what are you working on?”  
  
“Oh.” It was her turn to grimace. “A paper for my history of eastern architecture class.”  
  
“You’re majoring in architecture?”  
  
“Yeah, why?”  
  
“Nothing. That just seems so…challenging. Not that you’re not up for a challenge,” he added quickly when she raised her eyebrows. “I just mean, I’m really impressed. That can’t be an easy major.”  
  
“It’s not,” she admitted. “But I love architecture, and designing is all I’ve ever wanted to do. I’ve drawn more cities than I can count. I’ve designed fountains for parks I’ve sketched out. I’ve even drawn up the plans for an amusement park.”  
  
Percy stared at her. “Wow,” he said after a long moment. “That sounds intense.”  
  
“That about sums me up,” Annabeth said with a laugh. It didn’t sound the least bit amused.  
  
“I mean, I guess you’d have to be intense in order to get into the architecture program here,” Percy admitted. “It’s not something you can half-ass.”  
  
“It’s not. Anyway, I’m not nearly as intense as my parents. They’re both college professors – my dad works at Stanford, my mom teaches Oxford.”  
  
“How do they feel about you attending school at Rallington University?” Percy wanted to know.  
  
“Pissed. As my mom likes to say, if I wasn’t going to go to one of _their_ schools, then I should have just gone to an ivy league.”  
  
“Why didn’t you?”  
  
“I didn’t want to.” Annabeth took a deep breath. “I spent my entire childhood and teenage years always competing with the other kids, trying to do the best academically. I fought tooth and nail for the position of valedictorian. And I got it, and that was amazing. But I worked my ass off. And I just got burned out. I couldn’t do it anymore. I didn’t want to go to an ivy league school or a university like Stanford or Oxford, where everyone is super smart and prestigious. I wanted to go to a school where people are more relaxed, more chill. Where I didn’t feel like I had to push myself to the point of breaking. And Rallington is still a really good school with an excellent architecture program. And I’ve been happy here. Happier than I think I would have been at Stanford or Oxford.”  
  
“Probably,” Percy nodded. “It makes me so glad neither of my parents are professors. My dad owns a shipping company, but he’s super relaxed about everything, really chill. He spends a lot of time surfing. I’m not even sure how he keeps his business afloat – uh, pun not intended.”  
  
Annabeth felt a giggle escape her lips, and then another. Percy looked kind of embarrassed, but pleased at the same time by her reaction.  
  
“What does your mom do?” Annabeth asked once she’d stopped laughing.  
  
“She’s an author, but she used to work at a candy store in Grand Central Station,” Percy told her. “Sweet on America? Ever heard of it.”  
  
“I’ve been there once or twice. I remember their chocolate was really good.”  
  
“It is. So yeah, she worked there before she got published. My stepdad is a teacher, but he teaches at a public high school.”  
  
“My stepmom is a stay-at-home mom,” Annabeth told Percy. “She pretty much just lives off my dad. And she doesn’t like me very much, never has. She’s always resented me, because I’m a reminder of my dad’s first marriage. I think he still sees my mom as the love of his life, and he’s never completely gotten over her. My stepmom can sense that, I think, so she takes it out on me. She blames me.”  
  
“That’s really fucking stupid,” Percy said angrily. “See, that’s the problem with parents and marriages. No one ever wants to take responsibility for their actions. My stepdad – my first stepdad – was like that. My dad has his moments, too. I mean, my dad admits that he’s a screw up, but he never really tries to make things right. He missed my high school graduation,” he added. “He said he was sorry, but I don’t know if he even really tried to make it.”  
  
Annabeth couldn’t think of anything to say except, “Wow. That really sucks.”  
  
“Tell me about it.” Percy looked glumly down at the wooden table. “And then he wonders why I don’t talk to him.”  
  
“My parents made it to my graduation,” Annabeth said. “Though my mom did critique my valedictorian speech and my stepmom told me the dress I wore made me look chunky.”  
  
“They must be great parents,” Percy said dryly. “At least I have my mom and her new husband. My mom is pretty much the best person in the world, and Paul is fantastic. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”  
  
Annabeth smiled, and Percy smiled back. He shifted in his chair, and the late afternoon light radiating through the window lit up his face, throwing a thin scar that started at his hairline and slid down to the corner of his eye into sharp reflection.  
  
Her eyes widened and she leaned forward. “How did you get the – “  
  
“Accident,” Percy grunted out. He reached down and pulled out a biology textbook. “Long story.”  
  
“I – okay.”  
  
“It’s nothing,” he assured her. “Maybe I’ll tell you about it one day.”  
  
Annabeth opened her mouth and instead closed it and smiled. “Okay.”  


* * *

On late Thursday afternoon, Annabeth followed Piper to the pool, where the swim team conducted their practices. As she and Piper took seats in the bleachers, the smell of chlorine clogging their nostrils and making their eyes water, Annabeth kept her gaze on Percy. He looked every bit as good in his speedo as she had suspected, with his rounded shoulders, tight waist, and perfectly shaped ass. She suspected this was not helping her shallowness one bit, but she also noticed that she wasn’t drooling over his teammates at all, and they looked just as good as Percy.  
  
Maybe this attraction really did run deeper than she had initially thought.  
  
“Aren’t you glad you came with me?” Piper asked with a small smirk as she followed Annabeth’s stare to Percy.  
  
“Extremely so.”  
  
At that moment, Percy turned around and spotted Annabeth and Piper sitting in the stands. He grinned and waved at them, and Annabeth found herself shyly waving back.  
  
“I still can’t believe I hadn’t met him before Saturday,” she commented to Piper.  
  
“It’s a big campus with big classes,” Piper pointed out. “You probably had a class or two with him your freshman year, but those general classes have over one-hundred students. Your chances of meeting him would have been very limited.”  
  
“I suppose so,” Annabeth allowed. “And I guess we don’t really run in the same circles.”  
  
“Not in the least,” Piper grinned. “But you two have met, and you’re going to keep meeting until you get together.”  
  
“Don’t start in about fate and all that shit again.”  
  
“Fine. But I’m pretty sure you two were destined to meet.”  
  
“What the hell makes you say that?”  
  
Piper shrugged. “Just a feeling. You two have crazy chemistry, now that you’re no longer acting like a snob and looking down on him for role playing Harry Potter.”  
  
“I did not look down on him for role playing Harry Potter – “  
  
“Yes, you did. You couldn’t see past that. It’s why you didn’t notice that the glasses were fake and the robes were so baggy they’d make anyone look scrawny. You acted like a total snob, Annabeth. But he seems to like you anyway.”  
  
“Yeah, for some reason,” Annabeth muttered as Percy performed a perfect dive into the water. “He may be one of the nicest people I know.”  
  
Piper smiled. “Or maybe he just realized that you were nice, but were just having a bad day. That does happen.”  
  
“I guess.” She shrugged, watching as Percy sliced neatly through the water. She couldn’t get enough of watching the bulging and lengthening of his back muscles as he swam through the water. He was all about speed and endurance, strength and tenacity, and it made her want to drag him out of the water and kiss him senseless. As she sat there on the cold, hard bleacher, she realized that maybe, just maybe, Percy Jackson was everything she had ever wanted and more.  
  
Her thoughts kept her company all through swim practice, and it was with a jolt of surprise that she realized the swim team was climbing out of the water. She watched as Percy grabbed a towel to begin drying off. He slung it around his waist, much like he had done on Sunday morning when he had answered the door, and made his way towards where the girls were sitting.  
  
He grinned at them. “Enjoy the show?”  
  
“I particularly enjoyed the part where you almost belly-flopped on your second dive,” Annabeth informed him with a grin of her own. “Other than that, it was okay.”  
  
Percy laughed and turned to Piper. “Jason will be over in a sec.”  
  
Piper smiled and stood up. “Actually, I’m going to go find him myself. See you guys in a bit.” She disembarked carefully from the bleachers, leaving Annabeth and Percy alone together for the moment.  
  
“So…” Percy adjusted his towel. “There’s this band that’s playing at the bar tomorrow night. The one I work at,” he added when he spotted Annabeth’s blank look. “I don’t know if you’d like them, they’re pretty indie. But I was thinking that maybe you’d like to come. I’m bartending tomorrow night, and it’d be nice to see a familiar face.”  
  
Annabeth considered that. Indie bands weren’t really her thing, and she didn’t love the idea of having to pay a cover to see one that she’d probably hate. But she really wanted to see Percy, and he was inviting her.  
  
“Sure, I’d love to.”  
  
He beamed. “Excellent. I can’t wait.”  
  
She smiled back. “Me neither.”  


* * *

Percy worked at a bar called The Neptune Lounge. Annabeth had heard of it and knew it was popular among the indie scene, but had never actually stepped foot inside before Friday evening. She’d convinced Piper to come with her, and Piper in turn brought Jason. They paid the cover, which was thankfully only a few bucks, and headed to the bar where Percy was working. He was swamped with pre-show orders, but he still found a moment to flash a grin at Annabeth and gesture that he’d get to them in a minute.  
  
It was only when the band went on that Percy was able to approach Annabeth. She, Piper, and Jason ordered their drinks. Once Piper and Jason had gotten theirs, they headed over towards the little stage to watch the band.  
  
Percy leaned over the bar. “I’m really glad you were able to make it,” he said to Annabeth. “I know this isn’t really your scene, but it’s nice seeing you.”  
  
She smiled teasingly before taking a sip of the glass of white wine she’d ordered. “What makes you think this isn’t really my scene?”  
  
“Uh, for one, you ordered a glass of white wine.”  
  
Annabeth laughed. “Okay, point to you. But I could just be in the mood for wine.”  
  
“You’re also more…” He rolled his hand as if trying to come up with the right term. “You’re very put together. Very nice and neat.”  
  
“And you love Harry Potter and are a closeted nerd,” she retorted. “Yet you work at an indie bar and you’re definitely bobbing your head along to a band that doesn’t seem to know what form of rock music they’re playing.”  
  
“I think it’s more punk,” he said with a grin. “But point to you.”  
  
“Can I be honest with you?” she asked.  
  
“I’d hope so.”  
  
“I totally judged you when we met last Saturday. I decided you were someone you’re not.”  
  
He chuckled. “Yeah, I kind of figured that out already. But I mean, what were you supposed to think? I was dressed up like Harry Potter. I’d bought a pair of really shitty fake glasses that completely clouded my eyes, and I was dressed in prep clothes and an oversized wizard’s robe.”  
  
“I appreciate you saying that.” She took another sip of her wine. “But, let’s face it, I was a judgmental bitch. I didn’t want to be there and I was taking it out on everyone. I was kind of rude to you guys. I really regretted that on Sunday morning when you opened the door and suddenly you were hot.”  
  
Percy smiled widely. “Yeah? You think I’m hot?”  
  
“I _know_ you’re hot,” she retorted with a small smile. “I also know you’re kind of a nerd and you dress like a wannabe punk rocker and you’re actually a sweetheart. I know your first stepdad was abusive, and your dad tries but not hard enough. And I’d like to learn a lot more about you.”  
  
“Good,” he replied. “Because I want to learn a lot more about you, too. But…I gotta admit, I judged you, too.”  
  
“I’m not surprised,” she said dryly. “I was acting like a bitch.”  
  
“It was more than that. You were so pretty – you _are_ pretty. But you also struck me as the kind of girl who I tried to stay away from in high school. So damn smart and perfect and totally prep. And you were acting like a complete snob. So I didn’t want anything to do with you. Except I didn’t have a choice, because your best friend is dating my best friend. And then you showed up at my apartment on Sunday morning and acted completely different. You _looked_ completely different. And I liked you. I do like you. And I’d like to see where this goes. And – oh, shit. Sorry, I have a customer.” He nodded towards the guy who had just approached the other end of the bar and was snapping his fingers at him. “Fucking dickhead. Watch. I bet he won’t even tip.”  
  
Annabeth watched in distaste as the guy barked out a drink order at Percy. She could tell just from the expression on Percy’s face that he was making some very sarcastic comments. And sure enough, the guy snatched his drink up and stomped off without leaving a tip.  
  
The next hour saw a steady stream of customers approach the bar for a drink. Percy and another bartender, who introduced himself as Leo, worked the bar quickly and competently. They kept everyone happy and, for the most part, pocketed their fair share of tips.  
  
Once the show ended, the bar flooded with people getting a nightcap before heading off. Annabeth took her cue to leave. She got to her feet but, before she could take more than two steps towards the door, saw Percy gesturing at her. He pointed towards a little side nook near the bar. It looked fairly quiet, and so she nodded and found a comfy chair to wait it out in.  
  
She was only waiting for about fifteen minutes before Percy joined her in the chair besides hers.  
  
She raised an eyebrow. “How the hell did you manage to escape?”  
  
He grinned. “Frank and Hazel showed up. It’s my break. And then I have two more hours and I’m out of here.”  
  
“Only two more hours?” Her other eyebrow raised. She checked the time on her phone. “So you’re out of here at 2am?”  
  
“Yeah. Don’t worry, you don’t need to wait it out with me. I’m sure you’re tired.”  
  
“No, I wasn’t thinking that. I might stay. It’s kind of interesting. Jason and Piper are having a blast,” she added, nodding to the pool table, where Piper was thoroughly kicking Jason’s ass.  
  
Percy laughed. “Shit, I could have told Jason it was a bad idea to play her. Piper looks like the kind of girl who’ll take a guy for a ride.”  
  
“Oh? You have experience with those types of girls?”  
  
“Not personally, no. My exes have all been pretty good.”  
  
“Who’s your most recent ex?”  
  
“Ex-girlfriend? A girl named Calypso. She’s actually dating Leo now, believe it or not.”  
  
“You said ex-girlfriend like there’s another type of ex you were thinking of,” Annabeth prodded.  
  
Percy shifted in his chair. “It’s not a big deal. I just…I was sleeping with another girl for a little while after Calypso and I broke up. But it was platonic. I mean, not that sex is ever really platonic, but our relationship – friendship – whatever – is strictly platonic now.”  
  
“How long since you stopped sleeping with her?” Annabeth asked.  
  
Percy considered that. “About…a month and a half? Yeah, a month and a half.” He eyed Annabeth. “Does that bother you?”  
  
“Not really. We didn’t know each other then. And we’re not dating.”  
  
“Yet.”  
  
She smiled a little. “Yet.”  
  
“So, what about you? Who’s your most recent ex?”  
  
“A guy named Luke. I dated him from sophomore through junior year, but we broke up last spring.”  
  
“I’m sorry. That’s a long time to be in a relationship.”  
  
Annabeth shrugged. “It was for the best. We just grew apart, and the relationship wasn’t always the best.”  
  
“So you haven’t dated anyone since him?”  
  
“No.” She paused. “I haven’t been with anyone since him at all.”  
  
Percy nodded slowly. “I see.”  
  
“I thought I should wait for a little while, since we were together for almost two years. Piper was all for dragging me to a bar so I could meet someone, but that’s not really my scene.” She paused as Percy grinned. “So yeah, you got that right. Going to bars _aren’t_ my scene. But that doesn’t mean I’m not open to new experiences.”  
  
“Such as?”  
  
She smiled coyly. “You’ll just have to find out when your shift ends.”  
  
Percy’s eyes glittered with excitement. “I’m definitely looking forward to that.”  
  
Annabeth spent the next couple hours playing pool with Piper and Jason, and sipping on water at the bar.  
  
It was nearly 2 in the morning when Piper touched Annabeth’s shoulder. “Hey, we’re going to head out. We’re heading back to Jason’s apartment.”  
  
Annabeth smirked. “So, I should bring Percy back to ours? Make sure neither of us walk in on you guys playing Pool Hustler?”  
  
“That’s not even a thing!” Piper gasped out.  
  
Annabeth’s smirk widened. “It is now.”  
  
Piper glowered at her before smiling. “Be safe tonight.”  
  
“Are you really trying to give me the safe sex talk?”  
  
Piper smirked, too. “Possibly. See you tomorrow, Annabeth.” She gave Annabeth a quick hug, before backtracking to where Jason was waiting for her. He waved at Annabeth, who nodded back.  
  
Jason and Piper made their way through the bar, leaving Annabeth alone on her stool. She took another sip of her water and checked the time on her phone. Percy would be getting off work any minute. She fluffed out her hair and took a deep breath. She had no idea what would happen tonight. It was possible Percy would just end up sleeping on the couch. But it was also possible they’d end up in her bed together.  
  
She was totally cool with the second option.  
  
Percy finished with the last customer at the bar and made his way over to her. “Hey, I’m about to go clock out.” He glanced around. “Did Jason and Piper leave?”  
  
Annabeth nodded. “They’re heading back to your guys’ apartment. So, I guess this means you’re just going to have to crash at my place tonight so you don’t have to listen to them.”  
  
“I mean, I do have earplugs,” Percy smirked. “I’ve used them every night Piper has stayed over.”  
  
“I think your ears could use a break.”  
  
“Oh, really?” He leaned on the counter, his smirk widening. “Does this mean it’s going to be a nice, quiet night?”  
  
She traced the condensation her glass of water had left on the counter. “I really can’t promise that.”  
  
“Well, I’d hate to hold you to a promise you can’t keep. Anyway, I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”  
  
He disappeared into the back, and Annabeth shouldered her purse and hopped off the stool. She straightened her clothes while she waited for Percy to reappear.  
  
He did so not two minutes later. His black t-shirt clung to his shoulders and chest, and his skinny jeans fit him way too well for comfort. For the first time that evening Annabeth allowed herself to get a decent look at him.  
  
Yeah, she definitely couldn’t promise him a nice, quiet night.  
  
Percy moved towards her, and she stepped towards him. His hand cupped her cheek and tilted her face up. His lips met hers, hesitant at first, before pressing closer.  
  
Annabeth let her arms slide around his neck, letting her body rock into his. She felt his tongue at her lips and she opened her mouth, granting him entrance. His fingers slipped down her jaw, trailing down her neck and massaging circles into her bare shoulder. She nipped playfully at his bottom lip before breaking the kiss.  
  
“Shall we go?” she asked, voice a tad more breathless than usual.  
  
“Absolutely.”  
  
Percy led her out to where his Jeep Wrangler was parked. They slid into the car, and Annabeth glanced around curiously. She’d always felt as if you could tell a lot about a person from the interior of their car. For instance, her Subaru was well stocked with hand sanitizer, wet wipes, and a first aid kit. Architecture textbooks littered her backseat, and there was definitely a rogue Starbucks coffee cup rolling around under the seats.  
  
Percy’s Jeep didn’t seem to have any hand sanitizer out in the open. But he had textbooks on marine biology, a huge gym bag, and about twenty pairs of earbuds tangled up in the cup holder.  
  
Percy caught her raised eyebrow as she looked at the earbuds and gave her a sheepish grin. “I always think I’ve lost my earbuds, and then they turn up in the bottom of my backpack or gym bag. And then I toss them in my cup holder.” He started the Jeep and pulled out of the parking spot.  
  
“You know, most people keep spare change or, you know, _cups_ , in their cup holder,” Annabeth informed him.  
  
“What can I say? I’m special.”  
  
Annabeth snorted. “That’s one way of putting it.”  
  
He pouted at her, before reaching over to turn on the radio. A random rock song blared out, and he quickly turned the volume down. “What kind of music do you like?”  
  
Annabeth considered that. “Pop. Country. Rock. Whatever’s decent, I guess. I’m not, like, super big on music, but I like listening to the radio when I’m driving or if I’m bored.”  
  
“I can’t even imagine not being in love with music,” Percy commented. “Music is what kept me going before my mom left my stepdad – my first stepdad.”  
  
“Gabe,” Annabeth supplied.  
  
“Yeah, him.” Even in the dark car, Annabeth could see Percy’s knuckles clenched white around the steering wheel. “I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have music to listen to. I started playing the guitar,” he added after a moment, “when I was 12.”  
  
“Do you still play?” Annabeth asked curiously.  
  
“Some. Not as often as I used to, but yeah. It’s…peaceful. Relaxing. Sometimes it feels like it’s the only time my ADHD isn’t acting up.”  
  
“Is your ADHD acting up right now?”  
  
“No.” He smiled a little. “It never does with you.”  
  
Annabeth smiled too. “Good.” She wanted to ask more about Gabe, but knew that right now wasn’t the right time. She’d ask Percy about Gabe some other time. But tonight was all about them. Nothing more, nothing less.  
  
They reached Annabeth’s apartment complex a little while later, and they headed up to the girls’ apartment. Annabeth got the door unlocked and they stepped into the living room. Percy glanced around as Annabeth locked the door and flipped on the lights.  
  
“It’s very…clean,” he said. “Somehow, I’m not surprised.”  
  
“I don’t like clutter,” Annabeth replied with a shrug. “It’s distracting.”  
  
“You get distracted easily?”  
  
“Sometimes. _You_ distract me _very_ easily,” she added, letting her hands rest on his shoulders.  
  
His eyes glinted with satisfaction and he placed his hands on her hips. “Good. That’s my goal, to distract Annabeth Chase.”  
  
“It’s a worthy goal,” she assured him, before kissing him. He returned the kiss eagerly, his fingers clutching her hips and pulling her closer. She let her hands slip under his t-shirt; she could feel the hard lines and ridges of his abs as she moved her fingers up his torso.  
  
He growled, and suddenly he was lifting her up, his hands cupping her ass as she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. He broke the kiss long enough to ask, “Which way to your room?”  
  
“Down the hall. It’s the door on the right,” she breathed out, before crashing her lips back against his. He somehow managed to navigate his way around furniture and down the hall, even as his lips remained glued against hers. He backed into the door to open it, and Annabeth fumbled along the wall, searching for the light switch. She flicked it on and Percy stumbled into the room, kicking the door shut behind them. He pulled back, looking a little dazed.  
  
Annabeth attached her lips to his neck, pressing kisses along his jaw.  
  
“You really are fucking distracting,” Percy breathed out as he carried her over to the bed.  
  
Annabeth laughed as he dumped her on the mattress. “Just consider it payback. You’ve been distracting me for the last week.”  
  
He crawled on the bed, knees straddling her hips. “It was the nerdy Harry Potter costume, wasn’t it?”  
  
She cracked up. “Don’t you wish?”  
  
He attacked her neck, sucking and licking his way down to her collarbone. “Want to be my Hermione Granger?”  
  
“Doesn’t Harry end up with Ginny Weasley?”  
  
“Yeah, but you’re as smart as Hermione. And J.K Rowling said Harry and Hermione would make a good match.”  
  
“I’ll think about it,” she told him. “Right now, you’re wearing way too many clothes.”  
  
“Then maybe you should do something about that,” he suggested with a smirk.  
  
She grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and yanked it up. He obediently lifted his arms so she could get it off. She went to his jeans, undoing them and shoving them down, leaving him in just his boxers. She hitched a leg over his hip and shifted her weight, shoving on his chest so he was forced to flip onto his back. She crawled atop, straddling his hips and trailing her finger down his chest and over his stomach.  
  
“You know,” Percy said, “I think the only one who’s wearing way too many clothes right now is you.”  
  
Annabeth shot him a copycat smirk. “Then maybe you should do something about that.”  
  
She helped him get her tank top and skirt off. And then he was reaching behind her, unclasping her bra.  
  
Their eyes met and she leaned down, pressing her lips to his.  
  
This. This was what this evening had been. This was what their first meeting at the bookstore had been meant to lead up to.  
  
Percy’s boxers disappeared, and so did Annabeth’s panties. And then his fingers were everywhere and so was his mouth. And then she was back on her back and he was pushing in, and she felt as if she might explode from the feeling of him _everywhere_ – he was all around her.  
  
Annabeth would never admit it, but she definitely cried Percy’s name when she came, and it was definitely her name rolling off his tongue as he finished.  
  
Afterwards they lay side by side, limbs tangled together in the sheets, cheeks flushed and eyes drooping.  
  
“I bet this isn’t what you thought would happen when you first saw me,” Percy said with a tired grin as he shifted so Annabeth could rest her head on his chest.  
  
“Definitely not. But I’m glad it did.”  
  
“Mmm…good.” She felt his lips against his hair. “So, maybe you should have dinner with me tomorrow night.”  
  
“Like a date?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
Annabeth hummed. “Well, I suppose I could be convinced…but it’ll have to be later in the evening. I’m supposed to go into the city with Piper tomorrow.”  
  
“Eight-o-clock work?”  
  
“Deal.” And with that she stretched out alongside him and slowly drifted off.  
  
Not everything was perfect. She still didn’t know what exactly had happened with his former step-father. She didn’t know who his first kiss had been or why he was studying marine biology, or who his favorite band was or what his favorite song was. There were still so many questions. She still had no idea why he loved Harry Potter enough to dress up as the Chosen One for a day.  
  
But they would get to them. And knowing that, right now, was enough.  
  
In that moment, Annabeth realized that judging a book by its cover maybe wasn’t the smartest thing in the world. But even the smartest people made mistakes. And this mistake seemed to be working out just fine for her.  


**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed that! Thanks for reading! :)


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